Samuel miller



S. MILLER 8a W. GATES, Jr. MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING FRlcTIoN MATCHES.

No. 19,608. Patented Mar'. 9, 18a/a.

mE ECKERY umasmwmmi Co., wgHINGTaN, D. C.

Ycentralvsection of our improvement. 2, isa front sectional elevation of ditto,

UNI ID. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'SAMUEL MILLER, OF HAMMOND, AND WM. GATES, JR., OF FRANKFORT, NEW YORK,

ASSIGNORS TO WILLIAM GATES, JR., OF FRANKFORT, NEW YORK.

MATCH-MACHINE.

v Specification of Letters Patent No. 19,608, dated March 9, 1858.

and State of New York, and W'ILLIAM GATES, Jr., of Frankfort, in the county of Herkimer, in the same State, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Manufacturing FrictionlIatches; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is alongitudinal vert-ical and Fig.

taken in the line (x) Fig. I. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of one of the feeders and wedges, and Aone of the clamps.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to certain improvements on a machine for manufacturing friction matches for which Letters Patent, bearing date April 4th, 1854, were granted to William Gates, J r., and H. I. Harwood.

The within described invention consists in the employment or use of cams so formed and arranged as to perform the office of feeders to move an endless chain of clamps, used in the machine above referred to, of wedges to open said clamps to receive the match sticks and to allow the sticks to be discharged therefrom, and of stops to retainfrom' them.

The invention also consists in a peculiar device for guiding the match sticks into the clamps, and for holding the bolt in proper place on its bed.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct our invention we will proceed to describe it.

A, is a platform or base on which four uprights (a) (a) (b) (Zi) are placed said uprights supporting a horizontal bed B.

is an endless chain of clamps. The

clamps are formed each of wooden slabs (c),

the ends of which are slotted longitudinally for a short distance and are fitted on the links of chains D, D,-projections (f) being formed on the links between which projections the clamps are fitted. The slab (c) 0f each clamp has a spring E, bearing against it, said springs having a tendency to press the slabs (c) against their fellow slabs (d). The springs E, may be formed of flat steel strips having their ends slotted and fitted on the links (e). This chain C, as above described differs somewhat in construction from the one on the patented machine previously lreferred to, in fact the construction of the chain may be modified in various ways, but the one herein described will probably answer as good if not a better purpose than other modes of construction. The chain of clamps C, works over guide rods (7L) and through guide boxes (i) attached to the bed B.-See Fig. l.

F, is a shaft which is fitted in suitable bearings on the platform or base A. This is the driving shaft of the machine and to one end of it a bevel pinion is attached, said pinion gearing into a corresponding pinion (7c) on the lower end of a vertical shaft G, which by means of gearing (Z) and a shaft (m), gives motion to a shaftplaced transversely on the front end of thev bed B. The shaft (n) by means of bevel gearing (o) communicates motion to the shafts H, H, which are placed longitudinally on the bed B, and extend nearly its whole length. On each shaft H, a cam I, is placed. These cams are constructed precisely alike and are formed of a section of a Screw and two parallel portions. This will be clearly understood by referring to Fig. 3, in vwhich the part included between the points (p), (p), and designated by (px) is the screw portion and the ends (Q) (r) the parallel portions. The part (Q) is of wedge or taper form, or, it is much thicker than the screw portion, and at its junction with said portion is gradually tapered the remaining portion having parallel sides. The cams I, extend rather more than one revolution on the shafts H, H, the ends Y (r) projecting past each other. The cams I, work between the slabs (c), (d), of the clamps as will be hereinafter more particularly referredy to.

To the back end of each shaft H, a bevel pinion (s) is attached. These pinions gear into corresponding pinions (t) (t) on the lower ends of small upright shafts (u), on the bed B. Each shaft (u) has a cam J, on it, said cams being constructed similar to the cams I, but working in a horizontal position, see Fig. 1, in which the screw portion (ax) of one of the cams J, is clearly shown as well as its parallel portions (71X) (Gx).

K, K, Fig. l, are discharged rollers placed in front ofthe chain of clamps C, and on a line which passes between the two clamps J. J An endless apron L, is also placed transversely on the bed B, directly in front of the rollers K. The use of this apron will be presently shown.

lVI, is a gate which is fitted in a plate N, secured between the two front uprights (n) (a). The gate M is fitted between proper guides in the plate N, and a reciprocating motion is given it from shaft F, by means of a crank (j) and connecting rod (c).

In the upper part of the gate M, a cutting tool O, is Secured. This tool is formed of a series of circular and semi-circular cutters connected together and its construction and operation are precisely the same as the one described in the letters patent previously alluded to. The plate N, is not rigidly attached to the uprights (a) (a), it has a reciprocating lateral movement, given it by a cam P, on the shaft Gr, said cam working within a loop Q, attached to one side of the plate N, see Fig. 2. The plate N, has two horizontal rods (Z) attached to each side, said rods being fitted and working in openings in the uprights and sewing as guides to the plate. To the upper part of the plate N, a transverse bar R is attached. This bar has its front or face side grooved vertically as shown at (ZX) and these grooves are placed in line with the circular cutters of the cutting tool, see Fig. 2 in which the circular cutters (m), or rather their position is shown by dotted lines.

S, is a guide which is formed of a rod bent so as toform a horizontal top piece (a) and have two vertical portions (0") (0X) which pass through the gate M, see Fig. 2.

T, are bolts from which the match sticks are cut. The bolts are sawed or got out of wood of proper thickness corresponding to the desired length of the sticks, the sticks being cut from the bolt longitudinally with its fiber or grain. The bolts are placed on a bed U, and is fed to the cutting tool O, by feed rollers V, V, which may be operated in any proper way from the driving or power shaft of the machine. The lower edge of the bar R, rests upon the upper surface of the bolt being acted upon and near it-s edge as shown plainly in F ig. l.

W, is a discharge plate which is fitted in a guide X, so as to work in line with the bite of the rollers K, K. This plate is operated at the proper time from the shaft (n) by means of levers Y, Y, rod Z, and a spring A.

The operation is as follows: The bolts T, are placed on the bed U, and motion is given the shaft F, in any proper manner. The

gate M, as before stated has a reciprocating motion given it by the crank (j) and connecting rod (e) and each time the cutting tool O, descends the circular cutters cut each a match stick from the edge of the bolt, the plate N, moving laterally at the termination of each upward movement of the gate so that the cutters (m) will cut the sticks shown in red from the semi-circular ridges formed by the semi-circular cutters of the tool O, during its previous descent. The match sticks are retained in the cutters (m) during the upward movement of the tool O, and the sticks enter the clamp immediately above it, the grooves (ZX) of the bar R in connection with the guide S, keeping the match sticks in line and causing the sticks to be properly presented to the clamp, the guide S, rising with the gate M, until it strikes the under side of the bed B, and thus remaining until the gate M has reached its culminating point. Vhen the gate M, descends the guide S, descends with it a certain distance until the lower ends of the rods (0X), (0X), of the guide strike the base or platform A, where it remains stationary so that the rod (u) will be at a point some distance below the upper edge of the bolt and keep the sticks in line so that they will enter the grooves (lx) of the bar R, the lower edge of which in consequence of bearing on the end of the bolt prevents the same from being raised by the tool as the latter ascends. Vhen the tool O descends the sticks are retained by the clamps and a clamp is fed over the cutter O, so as to receive the sticks cut by it at each stroke by means of the screw portion (px) (ax) of the cams I, I, J, J, the cams fitting between the ends of the slabs (c) (d). The apron C, is moved therefore intermittingly the movement being produced by the` screw portions (29") (ax) of the cams and the dwells being produced by the parallel portions (Q) (r), (bx) (0*), and the slabs of the clamps are distended by the wedge shaped parts of the portions (g) (ZJ) of the cams, the springs E closing the slabs of the clamps as the parts (Q) (bx) leave them. The parts (g) of the cams I, open the clamps to receive the match sticks, while the cams J, open the slabs to allow the sticks to be discharged therefrom by the plate W, which is actuated as the clamps are opened by said cams, the plate W, forcing the sticks between the rollers K, K, by which they are discharged upon the apron L. The sticks previous to reaching the rollers K, have their ends covered with the sulfur and igniting compound in the same way as described in the patent of William Gates Jr., and H. I. Harwood previously referred to.

By this improvement the match sticks as they are cut are properly guided or kept in line or in arproper position so that they will readily enter the clamps of the chain C, and the blot is kept properly in place on the bed U, by the bar R, which rests on its upper surface adjoining its front edge and prevents the bolt being moved upward by the friction of the cutting tool as the latter ascends. The apron C, isV also fed inter* mittingly and secured at the dwells, or prevented at those times from casually moving, by means of the cams I, I, J, J, said Cams also opening the clamps so ,that they may receive the sticks and also allow the same to be discharged from them.

l/Ve do not claim the endless chain of clamps C, nor the cutting tool O, for they have been previously used as herein stated, but,

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Operating or moving the chain of clamps C, intermittingly, retaining it during the proper dwells, and opening the clamps during said dwells, by means of the cams I, I, J, J, constructed and arranged substantially as described.

2. We further claim the guide S, tted in the gate M, and used in connection with the grooved bar R, for the purpose of guiding the match sticks or causing them to be properly presented to the clamps.

3. Ve also claim the bar'R with or without the guide S, when said bar R is used in connection with the cutting tool O, for the purpose of retaining the boltin proper lposition as the cutting tool asoends. I

SAMUEL MILLER. WM. GATES, JR. Vitnesses:

B. J. HOTELING, E. S. MUMFORD. 

